


Just come home to the alleys, whatever it takes

by PrettyPinkCupcake



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Rigel Black Chronicles - murkybluematter
Genre: Fanfiction of Fanfiction, Gen, Hiding in the lower alleys, Inspired by The Rigel Black Chronicles, Post ruse fall out, Ruse Reveal, Soft with a warm dose of fuzzy feelings, friendship fic, murkybluematter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:01:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27528856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrettyPinkCupcake/pseuds/PrettyPinkCupcake
Summary: Leo and Harry, with a dash of Archie, as Leo discovers Harry's biggest secret, and what happens next.
Relationships: Harriet Potter | Rigel Black & Archie Black, Harriet Potter | Rigel Black & Leo Hurst
Comments: 38
Kudos: 142
Collections: Rigel Black Chronicles Appreciation, Rigel Black Exchange Round 2





	1. Leo

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tsume_Yuki](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tsume_Yuki/gifts).



> I hope this fulfils your request.

Leo had had suspicions about Harry’s educational arrangements for sometime now. How could he not? 

Harry rented a vacant flat on Dogwood Lane and she was angry when he questioned her about it. She had refused to explain why she was renting the flat - nor would she say why it was so important to her. 

She was furious when Marek visited the American Institute of Magic at Leo’s behest; insisting that her life was in a precarious place, that she had dangerous secrets she could not share, that she was locked onto this course of action, that it was too late for her to go back and confess. 

The stories her school friend Hermione Granger told Leo about Harry’s antics at AIM weren’t about the Harry he knew, and he suspected that Hermione felt that the Harry of the alleys wasn’t the Harry Hermione knew.

But Leo only had suspicions, suspicions he was too afraid to voice for fear of them being true, for fear of the sheer disaster it would be for Harry if he was right and her ruse was revealed to the world.

What clinched it was watching Rigel Black compete in the Triwizard Tournament. Leo had expected the huge mirrored screen set up in Diagon Alley to attract quite a crowd, prime pickings for his pick pockets, so he’d made sure to go along, to be there if they needed him. 

Plus he wanted to see how Harry’s friend Hermione was faring in the tournament, as well as Harry’s cousin Archie. Hermione, with her enthusiasm and compassion, had become a welcome fixture at the Maywell Clinic over the summer, and his mother had not been surprised that Hermione was one of the Muggleborn champions. However, Leo had been surprised to read of Rigel Black’s involvement in the tournament; he couldn’t imagine Harry’s cousin being a Pureblood champion. 

After reading the Daily Prophet’s reports on the first task Leo was glad that Harry wasn’t involved. Archie and Hermione had come up against a troll, an acromantula, a sphinx, a werewolf and a _dragon_. 

Leo knew that something harrowing, something traumatic, something dangerous, had happened to Harry last year before she returned to the alleys. Her demeanour, as much as she tried to hide it, hinted at that, her magic too. She’d also let slip about testing her ward potion on a werewolf and a dragon. Leo wanted Harry safe. Yes, Leo was very glad that Harry was not involved in the tournament.

Leo hadn’t initially been paying much attention to the second task, catching up with his people and keeping an eye out for his kids, although he did stop to watch Hermione’s successful traversing of the elevated obstacle course, and he made sure to watch Harry’s cousin.

But as soon as he saw Rigel Black in action he _knew_ , however much he hoped otherwise. 

Harry, his friend Harry, Harry who was Krait’s best brewer, Halfblood Heiress Harry Potter, was competing in the TriWizard Tournament as Pureblood champion Rigel Black. He’d recognise those boots anywhere. And that proclivity for potions - throwing potion vials and potions ingredients to check for danger was just so intrinsically _Harry_. 

Everything suddenly fell into place. The apartment, the very different Harry that Hermione talked about (of course cousin Archie would be at AIM if Harry was at Hogwarts), Harry’s talk of perilous secrets … blood identity theft was punishable by Azkaban or the Dementors Kiss, and those complicit or caught aiding or abetting could also be subject to those penalties.

Leo hoped that his ears were too busy to notice those boots. Why had he ever suggested to them that they use Harry’s boots as a method of identifying her? He fervently hoped that they wouldn’t reach the same conclusion he had. They didn’t know everything he did, so surely the puzzle pieces wouldn’t fit together for them.

\- - - - - - -

Despite his epiphany over Harry’s boots, Leo maintained a state of denial until the third task. 

Surely Harry couldn’t be at Hogwarts. Leo had to be wrong. Harry wasn’t the only person to wear protective potions boots that looked like that. Harry could have easily gotten her cousin a pair of potions boots like hers. Rigel could be wearing them on her recommendation.

He’d read in the Daily Prophet coverage of the tournament that Rigel Black was a potions prodigy, so of course he’d have potions boots. Leo refused to consider that Rigel Black being a potions prodigy just provided confirmation of his fears.

The third task was dueling. Watching Rigel Black’s performance exploded his denials. Rigel thrashed his opponents, with a unique style that Leo couldn’t help but recognise. How could he not? He’d taught Harry, he knew how she moved, and he recognised Harry’s ingenuity with her magic. He saw the occasions she almost went for her knife, although he doubted anyone else would have picked up on it, and he had to laugh as she destroyed the dueling platform, remembering the damage she’d done to the stage in the Lower Alleys free dueling tournament.

Leo considered writing a letter to Harry, but what could he say? He knew, now more than ever, how important her secrets were. Harry would not voluntarily be a Pureblood poster boy in this tournament; not only was it antithetical to her beliefs, it was hazardous to her health, and with the eyes of the world on the tournament, her peril, should her ruse be discovered, was greater than ever. 

The Lower Alleys might be separate from the machinations of the Ministry and Pureblood High Society, but everyone knew it was dangerous to cross Lord Riddle, and this was Lord Riddle’s Tournament.

Leo couldn’t imagine that she was participating in this tournament unless she had no choice. He wondered who was coercing her, and with what. But he’d have to wait until the winter break to talk to her.

\- - - - - - - - - -

Winter break came and went, but Leo hadn’t been able to bring himself to do anything more than talk obliquely about the tournament with Harry. Her responses, and the way in which she responded, confirmed his worst fears; it _was_ Harry competing as Rigel Black in the tournament. 

Despite her efforts to hide it, Harry was clearly uncomfortable with the idea of Leo attending the final task, most likely worried that he would find out her secrets if he was present. 

Well, it was too late for that. He’d promised her long ago that he’d support her; that he was on _her_ side. So if Leo could be at the final task, if he could possibly provide her with any support, he would.

He wrote to Harry after the attack on Lamia Lodge. He didn’t want to distract her, but he didn’t think she’d appreciate being kept in the dark. But more than anything he wanted to wish her well, to urge her to take care, and to come home safely, whatever it takes.

Leo had accidentally figured out Harry’s biggest secret; now he was worried that he wasn’t the only one who knew that the Rigel Black competing in the tournament was really Harry Potter, that Harry Potter attended Hogwarts in her cousin’s name.

Remus, whenever he saw him in the Lower Alleys, now had a perpetual look of worry on his face, and Leo was pretty certain Harry’s participation in the TriWizard tournament was the source of Remus’s anxiety. Remus was her other dueling trainer; he’d seen her performance in the free dueling tournament. If Remus had watched Rigel’s duels in the third task, he’d know Rigel was Harry. 

Other, less friendly people, might also have figured out Harry’s secret. Harry’s matches in the Lower Alleys free dueling tournament had caught a number of eyes last summer. Wards Master Regulus Black had been a spectator and there was every chance that he’d be watching his ‘nephew’ in the TriWizard tournament. 

Leo didn’t mention it in his letter, but he’d started preparing contingency plans, options for Harry if her ruse was revealed. He knew, now, that Harry’s apartment was her backup plan, but he worried that it wouldn’t be enough; that too many people knew Harry Potter was a girl who had an apartment on Dogwood Lane. 

So Leo increased the number of safe houses the Rogue had, prepared numerous false documents and identity papers, obtained plenty of unregistered local and international portkeys, explored muggle transportation options out of England, expanded the Rogue’s surveillance activities outside of the Lower Alleys, and generally battened down the hatches, waiting anxiously.

\- - - - - - - - - -

It was at the final task of the TriWizard Tournament that Leo knew the ruse was almost over. There was something … different … about Rigel’s eyes as the champions commenced the final task. It wasn’t something that anyone else would notice, but Leo knew Harry. 

Rigel had never appeared enthusiastic about the Tournament; Rigel was resigned about competing and determined to win. This was different. Rigel’s resolve and determination to win was still there, but it was joined by a fleeting mix of panic and anger. 

Rigel had successfully completed the final task, becoming the overall winner of the tournament, when the sky darkened and the event turned into a debacle reminiscent of the Quidditch World Cup fiasco. 

An eerie hissing grew louder and louder, blocking out all other noise as the self-styled Lord Voldemort and his black cloaked and white masked “Death Eaters” appeared above the stadium. 

In the darkened sky, the stylised image of a skull with a glowing green snake exiting the skull’s mouth formed. The hissing morphed into words. “You did not lisssten,” the voice growled, “and continued consssorting with the lesssser bloods. Thisss abomination mussst not be allowed to continue. You will all feel my wrath!”

Immediately there were explosions around the stadium and the temporary stands shuddered violently, but it appeared that the Ministry and organisers had learnt something from the Quidditch World Cup fiasco; these stands were structurally well warded and safe from collapse. 

However, the Death Eaters had also changed since the Quidditch World Cup and their actions had escalated. The swarm of Death Eaters on brooms descended from the sky, directly attacking the spectators in the stands rather than just distributing pamphlets. 

Leo found himself alternately shielding those around him from Death Eater blasts and retaliating with blasts of his own. 

Leo’s magic was strong, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to shield so many people indefinitely. Thankfully he’d had the foresight to store a handful of bottles of Harry’s Protection Potion and Ward Disruptors in his pockets that morning. 

He quickly passed out the potion vials in pairs to those around him. 

“The clear bottle contains the ward potion. Pour it around you and it will create a fortis shield. It should protect you from most magic and physical attacks”

“Is this the potion Rigel used in the first task?” an older man wearing expensive robes asked. Leo didn’t recognise him. Not surprising: tickets to this event were expensive and not something many Lower Alley denizens could easily afford. There were, however, quite a few from the Lower Alleys outside the stands, staffing the stalls and selling their wares or providing entertainment. 

“Against the werewolf?” the man persisted, when Leo didn’t respond immediately, focused as he was on blasting the Death Eaters swooping above them off their brooms. 

“Yes,” replied Leo abruptly. “Try and make the potion barrier cover as many people as possible. The ward will last up to 12 hours, which is why I’ve given you the orange bottle as well. That’s the ward disruptor - use it when it’s safe to take down the ward and leave.”

“What will you be doing?” the man asked. 

“Taking the fight to those who deserve it,” Leo said, as he started to make his way to the nearest exit. He couldn’t help Harry from here. 

The unexpected shock of the attack, combined with the bombardment from above, had most people cowering in their seats under what shielding they could conjure up. A mass stampede for the exits had not yet started. Unfortunately the anti-apparition and anti-portkey wards were still operational. 

Leo had of course scoped out the tournament site in advance, and had made note of all the exit routes and potential bottlenecks. He’d carefully chosen his seating so that he could maneuver as best possible. 

It had initially been difficult to obtain information from Regulus Black on the layout of the stands and stalls, but Regulus had capitulated once Leo shelled out extra galleons above and beyond what was required for additional wards to keep the Lower Alleys stall holders and performers safe. (Following his transaction with Regulus, Leo suspected that many of the other stall holders present had also been offered additional ward protection at a premium rate.) 

Leo had been on tenterhooks throughout the day, on the edge of his seat watching the final task. He now raced to the main stage against the fleeing crowds just in time to see Rigel shield Lord Riddle from Voldemort’s deadly _Avada Kedavra_ curse. 

Rigel’s summoned podium-as-shield exploded on contact with the Killing Curse, but the resultant shrapnel could be blocked with a standard _Protego_ or Harry’s favourite _Fortis_ whereas the Killing curse could not. 

From his somewhat hidden vantage point at the edge of the stage, Leo took advantage of Voldemort’s shock at Riddle’s continued survival to banish his spare knife at the dark wizard. Voldemort screeched in pain as Leo’s knife unexpectedly stabbed into his shoulder, then he rapidly sent a spray of blasting curses across the stage before vanishing in a cloud of black smoke with a loud crack of disapparition.

Disguised though he was, Leo had no intention of drawing the attention of the Aurors, or worse, Riddle, or worst of all, Head Auror James Potter, so he disillusioned himself and quietly disapparated to the stalls outside the spectator stands. 

Cracks of disapparation echoed loudly across the grounds as the Death Eaters followed their fleeing master and abandoned their attack. Healers and Auror reinforcements apparated in as soon as it became clear that the anti-apparition wards were down. Spectators vanished rapidly once the anti-portkey wards were removed, as innumerable emergency portkeys were activated to send people to safety.

A small charm placed on the stage would let Leo know when Rigel left the stage. Until then he’d check on his people from the Lower Alleys, the stall holders, Cora and her troupe, and his pick pockets. Leo had made sure that everyone had access to a portkey, so they should be able to get home safely.

The spectators were well heeled and an event such as this would generate ripe takings, more than enough to cover the cost of additional wards and emergency portkeys, even though most of the audience appeared to have portkeyed away as soon as the anti-portkey wards were down. No celebratory post tournament spending (or pick pocketing) today. 

The crowds had left, apparating and portkeying home or returning to Hogwarts castle in the case of the many students in the audience, with the only remaining people the stall holders packing up their wares and a few Aurors patrolling the grounds, when Leo’s charm buzzed. Rigel had finally left the main stage; Leo wanted to make sure that Rigel was okay. 

A single solitary figure trudged slowly across the now vacant grounds, apparently lost in thought. If Rigel had a portkey, it wasn’t being used. Or perhaps Rigel just wanted solitude and time to think. It must have been an exhausting day for Rigel, physically, emotionally, and magically. Leo was torn; he didn’t want to intrude; but he wanted Rigel to know that Leo had Rigel’s back. 

Leo rapidly crossed the grounds and gently touched Rigel’s shoulder with his magic. All his doubts dispersed, all his fears were realised; this, without question, was Harry. Leo’s magic knew her, recognised her, and revelled in her. 

Unsurprisingly she startled; her reflexes still on a hair trigger, but she reigned in her destructive impulses when her magic recognised him, despite his outward disguise. Pride blossomed in him; she’d learnt well. 

“Just come home to the alleys,” he said. “Whatever it takes.” 

When she heard that she turned and crumpled into Leo, sobbing, while he held her; hugged her, soothingly, calmingly, supportively. The politicians and bigwigs, even her friends, had all activated their emergency portkeys to safety, but he was still here for her.

“I wish I could stay with you,” she whispered into his shoulder once her sobs eased, “but I have to get back to school. All I want is a shower and to sleep, to forget about the awful things that happened today, but everyone else will want to celebrate.”

“They’re not really your friends if they don’t understand,” he said. “You’ve had an exhausting day.” She laughed, but there was no joy in her voice. “I thought it would be all over after today. But no. Riddle…” her voice trailed off. “Despite everything I tried, he’s not going to let me go.”

“It will be okay,” he said soothingly. “I’m on your side. We’ll work it out. Somehow.”

“Thank you,” she replied. “For everything.”

She slowly disentangled herself from his hold and took a look at Leo’s disguise. “I’d better get going. I don’t want to explain why Rigel Black is hugging an unknown man on the middle of the tournament grounds.” She smiled fondly. “You were right though; you can disguise yourself.”

Leo reached into his pocket and drew out a cloak clasp. “This is a portkey to one of the Rogue’s safe houses. It can transport up to three people at a pinch. The trigger phrase is ‘red chrysanthemum’. Use it whenever you need to, and I’ll be there.”

“Thank you, again,” she said, as she tucked the clasp into her pockets. 

“Stay safe,” he said as he let her go. 

He disillusioned himself but continued to watch her until she disappeared into the safety of Hogwarts castle.


	2. Harry

“Wake up! Wake up! We’ve got a problem.”

“Whuh?” Archie had never been a morning person.

“Come on, cuz, wake up. I need to speak to you. Now.”

“‘S’middle of t’night.” Archie’s true face stared blearily at her out of the mirror. It was quite a shock. Rigel might not have seen her real face since the great Polyjuice Fail of Third Year, but she knew that they were now very different in appearance. 

“I’m sorry. I waited as long as I could. But this is urgent. _Riddle knows_.”

“Whuh?”

“ _Riddle knows that Rigel Black is really Harry Potter_!” she hissed in a loud whisper into the mirror. Rigel might have been alone inside her well warded lab with the rest of the school still asleep and recovering from yesterday’s celebrations, but there were some things that still couldn’t be said loudly.

“How?” barked Archie, suddenly a lot more awake, his real face almost automatically morphing into his Harry Potter face.

“I don’t know. He just confronted me before the tournament started yesterday. Warned me - no, threatened me - that I had to do as he said. He didn’t mention Azkaban, but the way he spoke, he didn’t need to.” Rigel laughed bitterly. “I think he was worried that I’d win the tournament and confess to the world that I was a halfblood and that proved that blood status was hogwash.” The rancour in her voice was palpable. 

“But you wouldn’t,” Archie said gently. 

“I wanted to. So much. Particularly after Riddle threatened me. But I couldn’t. It’s not just about me, but you, Addy, Lily and James, Sirius, Remus…” her voice trailed off.

“Congratulations by the way.” 

“Thanks. Yay me. Rigel Black, the new Pureblood Champion.”

“You might not remember, but I _did_ mirror call you to congratulate you last night. You just mumbled that you won and went back to sleep.”

“I _was_ bone-weary. The final task was excruciating and then the Death Eaters and Voldemort attacked.” Unexpectedly her voice brightened. “But I did get to add another Life Debt to my collection, albeit briefly.”

Archie facepalmed. 

“You’ve got quite a collection of Life Debts. Who was it this time? The Minister?”

“Better. Riddle.”

“Riddle? That’s great!”

Rigel snickered. Riddle being forced into owing a Life Debt to her was one of the few truly satisfying moments of the tournament. 

“Riddle _really_ didn’t want to admit to it, but he had little choice. I was still wearing my headband when Voldemort and the Death Eaters attacked, so my saving him from the killing curse was broadcast on the mirrors. He was basically shamed into it by the Minister and the tournament judges.”

Archie laughed sleepily. “Beautiful, cuz, just beautiful.”

“Riddle wanted the Life Debt extinguished. He was really insistent. He wouldn’t let me go until I agreed. I couldn’t say no - he was holding the ruse over me - but I did manage to get an Unbreakable Vow that is supposed to prevent him from taking retribution against our family.”

“Sounds like everything’s under control then,” he yawned. 

Rigel snorted. “Hardly. Did you miss the bit where Riddle knows Rigel Black is really Harry Potter?”

“But the Unbreakable Vow…” he yawned again. “Sorry, but it’s still the middle of the night for me.”

“The Unbreakable Vow needed a bonder, and I wasn’t about to let Lucius Malfoy into the ruse, so the wording is vaguer than I’d like. Riddle’s twisting of the first Unbreakable Vow taught me I have to be careful. I’m not going to rely too much on it.” Rigel well remembered Riddle’s sanctimonious admonition on formulating agreements. She wasn’t going to be so naive this time. 

“Damnit!” she swore, as realisation hit her. 

“What?”

“I just realised that I should have used Parseltongue to keep the wording of the Vow secret from Malfoy. I could have been much more specific then. We were even negotiating in Parseltongue to keep it confidential. Arghhh!” Harry was not happy. She’d let herself be outsmarted by Riddle again. She wondered if he realised.

“So it’s Plan B then? It’ll be hard to catch a cab to the airport at this hour, but you should get out of there as soon as possible and meet me at the Dancing Phoenix. You’re not still at Hogwarts are you-”

“Stop! Archie, we’re not invoking Plan B.”

“But-”

“I don’t think Plan B will cut it any more. We can’t just swap places now. Riddle _knows_.” The last was said with more than a hint of panic, Rigel’s fear feeding off Archie’s. 

It was the need to prevent hysteria in Rigel that restored Archie’s equilibrium.

“Calm down. It _will_ be okay. You always have everything under control. You cured the sleeping sickness, survived the basilisk and Pettigrew, and won the tournament. You always come up with a solution.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, it does actually make me feel better. I’m just worried that this time I won’t be able to pull it off.”

“We,” Archie interrupted. 

“We’re in this together. And together _we_ _will_ be able to pull it off.”

“You’re right; this isn’t just about me. I just don’t want us to be beholden to Riddle. I’m pretty certain my obligations to the Unbreakable Vow I swore to Riddle are over and I’m not bound to go on that damnable world tour, but as long as he’s holding the ruse over our heads…” her voice trailed off. 

“At least Riddle can’t introduce his blood status legislation any more. You won that.”

“Definitely better than the Rod of Zuriel. At least the post-Voldemort battle chaos gave me an excuse to give the Rod back to the Ministry to look after on my behalf in the interim.”

“And definitely better than a Grand Tour with Lord Riddle. I hope you’re right about the Unbreakable Vow you swore.”

“I hope so too. I tried to make it very clear when I accepted the Rod of Zuriel that as the tasks were complete, my role in the tournament was over. I just don’t know enough about Unbreakable Vows. Or Life Debts. Or what Riddle really wants. It’s never made that much sense to me why he wanted Rigel in the tournament so badly.”

“Perhaps because you’re scary brilliant. No one else could have pulled off what you did. Plus Dad’s not part of the SOW party so it looks like the tournament is independent.”

“Yeah. Even though everyone who knows anything knows that it’s not.”

“Yeah.” Archie yawned again. 

“If there’s nothing else, I’d like to get back to sleep,”

“Oh, Leo knows too.”

“Leo?! Is there anyone except Hermione who doesn’t know?” he snarked. 

“Hopefully the rest of the wizarding world,” she snarked back. “Riddle wouldn’t tell me how he found out or who else he’s told. But I’m worried that Remus might know. If my dueling gave me away to Leo as I think it did, then Remus probably knows too. I did ask James and Lily and Sirius and Remus not to attend the tasks, but it occurred to me afterwards that that wouldn’t stop them from watching the screens.”

“You’re babbling. Stop. We’ll work it out.”

“But if Hermione hasn’t already figured it out, you should tell her.”

“Well, Hermione _is_ brilliant.” 

Rigel just rolled her eyes. The segue to her cousin’s crush acted as a circuit breaker and calmed her down somewhat. Rigel was mindful of what Hermione had told her in the lead up to the Yule Ball; that Hermione wasn’t romantically interested in girls. If Hermione knew the truth, then maybe Archie stood a chance. Maybe something good could come of this. 

“I’ve said it before: you’re one smitten kitten, cuz. But back to the ruse. Hermione deserves to know. Before it gets revealed publicly.”

“You think Riddle will reveal the ruse publicly?”

“No. At least not yet. We’ve got an understanding. Mutually assured destruction. It’s not currently in Riddle’s interest for a Halfblood to have won his precious tournament. But that won’t be the case forever. I don’t know if he can force me to change the Unbreakable Vows he’s already sworn.”

“And if Riddle does reveal the ruse?” 

“That’s when Plan F gets implemented.”

“Plan F?”

“Flee. Fly the coop. Fade to black. Become a fugitive. If they can’t catch me, I’m safe from Azkaban. Leo gave me a portkey to a Rogue safehouse. Everyone knows that I never go anywhere without my potions kit, but they don’t know that it also contains this mirror and Dad’s invisibility cloak, so I’m always ready, and no-one knows I can apparate, though they might suspect a portkey. But I’m working on a better option. Plan C. We can talk properly once we’re home from school. I am sorry for waking you, but I just needed to talk to you today. Thanks. I feel a lot better now.”

Archie yawned again. “No problems, cuz. I’m glad I could help you. Congratulations again, even if I’m not entirely sure why you saved Riddle given the amount of trouble he’s gonna cause us. And now I’m going back to sleep. G’night.”

Rigel smiled as the mirror went blank. Just talking to Archie made her feel better. Like Leo’s hug yesterday had helped get her back on track after Riddle, the tournament, Voldemort, and more Riddle. A little bit of Riddle was more than enough. 

She looked carefully around her lab, checking to make sure that she’d cleared away anything that could be incriminating. Professor Snape left her alone to brew in her lab; he didn’t check up on her, and in return she didn’t pillage the student supply stores or undertake dangerous brews. She knew that he knew that she brewed more than her syllabus required, much more, but his policy of don’t ask, don’t tell, suited them both. 

She didn’t think Professor Snape realised quite how much she did brew, and he would not have been pleased at her unlicensed brewing of polyjuice, let alone her brewing her modified polyjuice. 

There was no evidence of that now; the modified polyjuice that she’d completed the day before the tournament was safely packed away in her potions kit. So too was the standard polyjuice she’d completed several weeks earlier.

Modified polyjuice had a much shorter shelf life than the standard version, but that didn’t matter. Her current polyjuice dose was nearing expiry, she’d need a new dose soon regardless of which hair she used in it. That was still to be determined.

She wasn’t sure yet where plan C would take them, but she could feel that the ruse was coming to an end, and she wanted it to be on her terms.

\- - - - - - - 

Rigel spent the remainder of the last three days before leaving Hogwarts for the summer holidays split between her lab, the library, and her friends. It was a bittersweet three days; deep down she knew that she was not likely to return to Hogwarts. Certainly not as Rigel Black.

She’d prepared all she could previously think of in advance of the final task, so there wasn’t really any additional brewing she needed to do, but her lab provided her with a private space to think and plan, and brewing always calmed her. 

Krait would always appreciate the extra potions, particularly the Protection Potions, that she was brewing. He always claimed that he never had enough protection potions and ward disruptors, and he’d upped the order significantly in the lead up to the final task. So too had the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Rigel suspected Krait had been selling them at a huge mark up from one of the stalls at the tournament. She didn’t mind; there’d been reports afterwards of her protection potion successfully shielding people from Death Eater blasts. She was very proud of that.

And the protection potion itself was such an easy potion to brew. She and Master Thompson had deliberately designed it that way. The Shaped Imbuing was magically intensive, but she had plenty of magic to spare now that she wasn’t training for the next task, and she was now very practiced at imbuing the Fortis Shield and Lightning Jaw into her potion base. 

She just had to avoid Professor Snape when she was brewing and owling; she was sure he’d recognise these potions and as far as he knew Rigel couldn’t manage Shaped Imbuing, only Harry could. She supposed if he did catch her with them, she could always claim that Harry sent them to her for the tournament. It was at least plausible as an explanation, and Snape was into plausible deniability. 

Rigel didn’t want to think too closely about Snape’s knowledge of Rigel Black and Harry Potter. He had plenty of pieces of the puzzle that was Rigel Black and he was as likely as Leo and Remus to see through the ruse. 

Rigel had to be especially careful around Draco in these last three days. She couldn’t afford for her emotions to give her away, and she was feeling rather emotional, with plenty of reason. Everywhere she went she was reminded of the good times she’d had, the friends she’d never expected to make. 

Meals in the Great Hall, sneaking into the Gryffindor common room to spend time with the Weasley twins, Ginny and Ron, researching in the library, learning healing with Zhou, spending time in the Slytherin common room talking to Draco, Pansy, Theo, Blaise, Millie, Rosier and Rookwood, flying with Draco on the Quidditch pitch… Rigel was sad that she might never do those things again. 

She was holding out hope against hope that her time learning potions from and free brewing with Professor Snape was not at an end; that she’d still be able to work with him, somehow, on her potions first aid kit.

For Draco and Pansy’s benefit (mainly Draco’s benefit), she tried to blame her sudden sadness on Rosier and Rookwood leaving Hogwarts as Seventh years, which had at least the benefit of partial truth. However, she hadn’t felt or acted that way around Selwyn or Flint in past years, and Draco knew it. 

Admittedly, Rigel was closer to Rosier and Rookwood, but she still felt it safer if she heavily occluded around Draco rather than let her emotions show how she really felt. Which was exhausting if done on a continual basis. Which is why she spent more time than she’d originally intended in her lab. At least it gave her plenty of time to brew and plan.

The Hogwarts library wasn’t as helpful as she’d hoped on the topic of Unbreakable Vows and Life Debts. The library did, however, have some very interesting information on the International Confederation of Wizards and the Equality Accords that bore further investigation, though perhaps not by Rigel. 

She’d briefly investigated Life Debts once she’d started accumulating them, but what little information initially found showed that as the person owed she wasn’t in any danger, so she’d not bothered investigating further.

She preferred the Sealing Curse she’d used on Flint to an Unbreakable Vow for concealing a secret. Sealing away a secret was much more appropriate for her purpose, so once she’d discovered this option she hadn’t investigated Unbreakable Vows further. 

And while she probably should have looked into Unbreakable Vows in more detail after she’d sworn that Vow to Riddle, the finite nature of her Vow, combined with the stresses of and training for the tournament, pushed this research to the bottom of her task list. 

Rigel tried obliquely raising these issues with Professor Snape, but either she was being too oblique, he didn’t know much about Unbreakable Vows and Life Debts, or it was a sore topic he didn’t want to talk about. 

She herself was in no hurry to mention to Professor Snape the Vow Riddle had sworn to extinguish Riddle’s Life Debt to her. Not only did she think he wouldn’t approve, but she didn’t want to go into any of her reasons for doing as she’d done. So she didn’t push it with Professor Snape. (It was bad enough that Lucius Malfoy had witnessed the Vow. If only she’d thought to ask for the Vow in Parseltongue.)

She would have liked to have asked Professor Dumbledore, but classes had finished for the year, and without her scheduled Alchemy class it was difficult to have a reason to talk to him, or to find a suitable time. Voldemort’s attack on Hogwarts grounds was keeping the Headmaster busy.

Rigel had the genesis of a plan fleshed out by the time it was time for the trip home on the Hogwarts Express. It might not be the only plan, but it felt like the best of the options facing them. 

Riddle knowing, and holding it over her the way he did, was untenable. She’d always been a believer in the end justifying the means, but Rigel knew that there was a sharp difference between what her conscience would accept and what Riddle might require of her. 

What happened next would depend not just on her, but on Archie and Leo. And maybe also on others, Hermione, her friends in the Lower Alleys, the people who owed her Life Debts - Wizengamot Elders Tiberius Ogden and Griselda Marchbanks, maybe even the Malfoys… 

She knew her family would be there for her, as much as they could. They’d shown that during the tournament, no matter how hard she’d tried to push them away. She didn’t want others to pay for her mistakes, to be hurt fixing her mess. 

She was used to being independent, relying on herself, with some help from Archie. But maybe it was time things changed. Maybe she could accept the help that others were offering.

Rigel remembered the promise she made to Leo, and his promise to her. That if she needed help, if she got in over her head, she would come to him and explain all. In return, regardless of the mess she was in, be it dangerous, illegal, unethical, or just plain crazy, Leo would help her. Unquestioning and without judgement.

She laughed. Her current circumstances ticked all boxes. Dangerous (if caught she could go to Azkaban or be Kissed by a Dementor), illegal (she was breaching the blood identity theft laws), unethical (she was pretending to be her cousin, stealing a Pureblood’s place at Hogwarts according to Pureblood laws) and certainly crazy (she was a Halfblood girl pretending to be a Pureblood boy and had been doing so for the past four years). She laughed louder.

When she and Archie first started down this path, almost four years ago, when they were eleven, had they ever thought they’d get this far? To be fair, they’d never really thought much beyond the next obstacle. And while they’d successfully overcome every obstacle so far, maybe it was time they changed tack. 

The problems Harry was facing as a Halfblood were problems that every Halfblood faced. Her current circumstances might be unique, but the genesis behind them - discrimination because of her blood status - wasn’t. And the challenges she faced were much less compared to the barriers and obstacles faced by many muggleborns trying to live their lives in British wizarding society.

Lord Riddle wanted Rigel Black to be the Pureblood Poster Boy? Not happening. Maybe it was time instead for Harriet Potter to be the Halfblood Heroine.


	3. Leo

_Please tell his highness that red chrysanthemums are all the fashion this summer._

Just one sentence included amongst a package of protection potions and ward disruptors sent to Krait. It arrived the day before the Hogwarts Express was due back in London, and was enough to put Leo (and subsequently the rest of the Court of the Rogue) on full alert. No one had heard anything from Harry since, and it was now almost a week into the summer school holidays. 

There’d been nothing at all in the _Daily Prophet_ about Harry Potter, and relatively little about Rigel Black and the TriWizard Tournament. Instead, the paper was focused on the Problem of Voldemort and his Death Eaters, as the _Prophet_ phrased it. 

None of Leo’s ears in the Ministry, those few he had, had heard anything at all about Rigel Black. The Minister, Riddle, Malfoy, Dumbledore, James Potter, the entire Auror Department, indeed the entire ministry, all were focused on Voldemort.

That, at least, boded well for Harry and her cousin.

Leo had to remind himself that this lack of immediate contact wasn’t all that unusual; it was only the most recent break that saw Harry into the alleys almost as soon as she arrived home from school. 

He remembered the year he had to trick her into coming to the Serpent’s Storeroom, getting Krait to tell her Horace Burke wanted to meet with her. She’d been angry with him then, and he admitted with hindsight, knowing what he now knew, that she’d been right to be angry with him; his actions, however well intentioned, could have caused her significant harm. 

This was different. He didn’t attempt to contact her, for fear of drawing attention to himself and the alleys. He speculated that Harry, similarly, didn’t want to give any indication as to where she might be before she fled from Riddle. What her parents didn’t know they couldn’t tell. 

Waiting was hard. At least Leo’s need to keep the safe house stocked with fresh red chrysanthemums meant that Margo’s flower selling business was booming.

And then, at last, Leo felt the unmistakable buzz of the safe house wards. Leo immediately activated his portkey and appeared in the living room of the small apartment that comprised the most secure of the Rogue’s safe houses. 

Harry was perusing the bookshelves on the far wall, most likely looking for potions reading material. Leo _had_ been tempted to raid the Potions Guild Library for rare volumes and recipes, but even he knew that was asking for trouble. 

Instead Leo discreetly pilfered potions volumes from his father’s personal library, knowing that the Aldermaster was a not infrequent visitor to the Guild Library when he “misplaced” a book due to the extremely random placement of books in his own library. Finding the best volumes to pilfer had actually been more challenging than the pilfering itself. 

Harry wasn’t alone. Standing in the middle of the room, looking carefully around, was a young man wearing elegant, expensive, fashionable robes. He stood in stark contrast to Harry, garbed as she was in her favourite brewing robes and her unforgettable, unmistakable, brewing boots, already pouring over the bookshelves.

Leo assumed Harry’s companion to be Cousin Archie. Also known as the Real Arcturus Rigel Black. Heir to the Noble and Ancient House of Black, but answering to “Harry Potter” for most of the year. 

Cousin Archie’s appearance had changed quite a bit since Leo last saw him. He was quite a bit taller than Harry now, his black hair straighter, though his eyes were the same sparkling not-quite-silver grey that Leo remembered. 

When Leo first met Archie, the cousins could be mistaken for siblings, twins even. Their eyes were different colours, Harry’s a dull green to Archie’s sparkling grey, but other than that they looked almost identical. 

“Welcome to the Rogue’s safe house, Harry, Archie,” Leo said, somewhat formally. Harry looked up from the bookshelf and turned around. But this wasn’t the Harry Leo remembered from last summer, nor even the Rigel of the tournament, but with Harry’s green eyes instead of Rigel’s (and Archie’s) grey ones. 

This Harry was very definitely, unmistakably, a girl. Her face was unquestionably feminine. She seemed shorter than last week and while she was still lean and muscular, her figure was no longer the androgenous form that had competed in the tournament. 

She had the messy uncontrollable black hair that the Potter family was renowned for, and her green eyes were as bright, vibrant and shocking as he remembered from when he first met her. 

“Hi Leo,” Harry said, squinting at him even with her glasses and appearing somewhat embarrassed by her new appearance. Leo mustn’t have hidden his surprise as well as he thought. Or perhaps Harry was worried about her new looks.

“The polyjuice wore off this morning. This,” she said, pointing to herself, “is the real me. Green eyes, bad eyesight, messy hair and all. I’ve been relying on Archie’s good vision genes for so long that my glasses sorely need to be updated.”

“Polyjuice?” Leo said, somewhat flabbergasted, his potions training coming to the fore. “How can this be polyjuice? You need to drink polyjuice every hour or it wears off. I _know_ I’ve seen you go for longer than that without drinking anything. Hell, the last task took several hours and you were too busy fighting for your life to take sips of polyjuice every 60 minutes!”

Archie laughed loudly. “Welcome to the amazing and wonderful world that is Harry Potter. Harry found a way to modify polyjuice so that it lasts for months, up to a year, not just an hour,” he said proudly.

“Harry made this discovery before we started our second year, and we’ve been using her modified polyjuice ever since. Well,” he said, his face suddenly changing to match Harry’s features, “I stopped using it once I discovered my metamorphmagus abilities.” Archie’s face returned to his own.

“So you’ve been polyjuiced as a boy for the last couple of years?” Leo asked, somewhat horrified, but trying desperately not to judge.

“No,” countered Harry. “I found a ritual that allows the blending of the appearance of two people but maintains gender. Apart from a few occasions in first year when Archie and I polyjuiced ourselves as each other to fool our parents, I’ve always been a girl. A girl that looks like a combination of myself and Archie, but a girl all the same. I just pretended to be a boy, an extremely modest, body shy boy, at Hogwarts.”

“I’d love to be a fly on the wall when Uncle James finds out about that,” snickered Archie. “And it would be even funnier to see him meet the boys who roomed with Rigel.”

Leo wouldn’t like to be in their shoes. On the rare occasions that Leo had met James Potter, the Head Auror had been very protective of his daughters. It was lucky for Harry that her father had very little idea of what she got up to. Leo didn’t imagine that Auror Potter would be any more appreciative of Harry visiting the Strigoi Shrouds vampire coven than he was.

Leo motioned to the comfortable looking wing chairs that surrounded the fireplace across from the bookshelves. 

“We’d best sit down. I dare say there’s a lot we need to talk about.”

Once they were seated, Leo couldn’t help but ask how the ruse started.

“It was all about potions, wasn’t it?” he asked.

“Potions and healing,” answered Archie. “I want to be a Healer. After my mother’s death,” and here Archie’s voice wobbled a bit, “healing is all I’ve ever wanted to do. To make sure other children don’t lose their parents the way I lost my mother. And you know Harry. All she’s ever wanted is to be a Potions Mistress. As a Halfblood, Harry can’t study at Hogwarts under Master Snape, and my father, for whatever reason, wouldn’t let me study Healing at the American Institute of Magic.”

“So you traded places,” said Leo.

“Yes,” said Harry.

“It was something we both wanted,” said Archie.

“Neither of us forced the other into it,” confirmed Harry. “You have to understand that we came up with this when we were eleven. It was pretty easy at first - we did actually look very similar, particularly after we had our hair cut in the same style. No one outside our family really knew what we looked like, so we took polyjuice to fool our family before we left for Hogwarts and AIM,” said Harry. “When that wore off we were ourselves.”

“It was only after our first year that things started getting more difficult,” Archie said. “It was pretty easy for me in America. No one there knows about British Pureblood Society, so they didn’t know about Heiress Potter, that Harry Potter’s a girl. I just pretended that my parents enrolled me as Harriet as a prank, and became, for all intents and purposes, Harry Potter, male student. Harry was the one who had it hard, dealing with all those dark Pureblood Heirs and their society manners. Not to mention the sleeping sickness, the basilisk, dominion jewel, the tournament...” Archie grimaced.

Leo vaguely recalled reading about the sleeping sickness, but it had been before he’d met Harry. He had discreetly asked about the basilisk after learning about Harry’s basilisk scale ring. He knew that a very large, old basilisk had been killed at Hogwarts and rendered into potions ingredients, and that the Potions Guild had been gifted a large proportion of the basilisk, but not even the Aldermaster knew of the details surrounding the circumstances that lead to the death of the basilisk. 

Most of what Leo knew about the Dominion Jewel related to the unwarranted Auror raids on the Lower Alleys, although he had gleaned a bit of background information thanks to a few comments from Curse Breakin’ Will. 

Leo guessed, now, that the Dominion Jewel had something to do with the occasionally haunted look on Harry’s face when she returned from school the previous summer. That and the initial … coldness … he’d felt from Harry’s magic, although that coldness, thankfully, hadn’t persisted, even though the occasionally haunted look had. 

“I don’t know how you do it, Harry,” said Archie, admiringly. “Particularly all that Dark Pureblood Society socialising. I can’t stand that.”

“Did it,” said Harry. “Past tense. I can’t go back now.” There was a catch in her voice, and Leo realised the hurt Harry felt at leaving her Hogwarts friends behind. She’d never have the same relationship with them again, although he suspected she’d always been cognisant of that outcome. Even if you knew it was coming, it still hurt.

“Riddle forced Rigel into the tournament for reasons I don’t know and can’t understand.”

Archie snorted at Harry’s obliviousness. Clearly he had his own views as to why Riddle wanted Rigel in the tournament, ones that Harry didn’t accept. It seemed that everyone but Harry knew how special she was. 

“And now Riddle knows that Rigel Black, the winner of Riddle’s True TriWizard Tournament, the event that will definitively prove Pureblood superiority for once and for all, is Halfblood Harry Potter,” she said. “He’s holding this over me, and it’s untenable. Sooner or later he’ll force me to do something I can’t do,” she said bitterly. “That’s why I’m seeking sanctuary.”

“That’s why _we’re_ seeking sanctuary,” Archie corrected, placing a comforting hand on Harry’s shoulder. “We’re in this together, cuz, we always have been. The ruse has been as much for me as it has for you, even if you had to do all the hard work, and _don’t you forget it_.”

“I’m here for you too, lass” Leo reminded Harry. “For both of you.” And he found that he was, even though he hardly knew Archie. Leo would support Harry, whatever it took, and that included looking after her cousin. 

“Thank you,” said Harry softly, her vibrant eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Now that Riddle knows, the ruse is effectively over. We’re enacting Plan C. I’m - no _we’re_ ,” Harry smiled at Archie, “We’re going to go out on _our_ terms. We’re going to let the world know that a Halfblood won the TriWizard Tournament. That Halfbloods and Muggleborns are just as good as Purebloods. That blood purity is hogwash.”

“Wow.” said Leo. “Riddle’s not going to be happy with that.”

“No,” said Harry. “Hence the need for sanctuary. But you need to understand all the facts first,” Harry said solemnly, seriously. “Blood identity theft is punishable by Azkaban or the Dementor’s Kiss, and any non-pureblood who’s aiding and abetting blood identity theft is also subject to severe punishment. Purebloods just get fined. It’s Azkaban or the Dementors Kiss for everyone else. It’s why I never wanted to tell you. Even after you offered to help.”

“Just as well I’m a Pureblood,” said Leo. 

“Of course,” said Harry. Archie looked surprised. Leo just laughed.

“Not that it matters, but the Hursts are Book of Bronze. My mother grew up in the alleys, but she has magical parents and grandparents. My family might not be the creme de la creme of society like you Book of Gold scions, but we do get invited to all the society functions. It’s usually just my father who goes, and that’s only because of his role as Aldermaster. In the alleys we believe what you do is more important than who your great-great-grandparents were.”

“I knew there was a reason why I’ve always felt comfortable in alleys,” Harry said with a smile. “But back to Plan C.”

Plan A was probably the ruse itself, but Leo briefly wondered what happened to Plan B. Perhaps that involved the apartment on Dogwood Lane. That wouldn’t be safe now, not if everyone was going to know the truth about Rigel Black. Too many people knew Harry had an apartment there. He supposed that was the point if Archie was found to be in America pretending to be Harry Potter. Rigel would disappear and Harry could at least say she’d always been in the Lower Alleys. 

“We need to get our side of the story to the media whilst we stay hidden. Confession and concealment. That’s the immediate, short term plan. Then we need to change the law. No more blood identity theft. No more discrimination on the grounds of blood status. We need to make the ICW Equality Accords actually mean something.” 

Leo whistled softly. Trust Harry to aim for the stars. But he believed she’d get there. She’d invented a whole new potions technique when she was a 13 year old intern. She’d modified polyjuice to last for months. He’d helped her brew Seifer’s Solution, an exacting, exhausting, complicated potion that few masters would contemplate brewing. She’d managed that, first try, without having a master’s assistance or having the experience of a master. And he’d watched her win the tournament. 

“You don’t do anything by halves, do you, lass? Staying hidden in the alleys shouldn’t be too difficult - unless you want papers to flee the country?”

Harry smiled. Her magic felt if not happy, then relieved. It was such a welcome change from where she’d been after the tournament. “I remember your earlier offer. Thanks but no thanks. I’m not going to let Riddle force me out of my country. There is no one now who looks like Rigel Black. I don’t. Archie doesn’t.”

“No one saw us this morning after Harry’s polyjuice wore off,” Archie added. “So no one knows what we really look like. Although Harry does have the Potter mop,” he said as he fondly ruffled her messy hair. 

“And Harry’s eyes are very striking,” said Leo, thinking how nice it was to see those glorious green eyes again. “It’d be a shame to have to disguise them, but they _are_ very memorable.”

Harry groaned. “‘As green as finely polished serpent scales,’” she quoted. Apparently my green eyes and black hair are the only things the society women remembered about me, not having seen me since I was a baby. Or so my Hogwarts friends told Rigel.”

“Better to be safe than sorry,” said Archie. “You’d best disguise yourself. Do you have modified polyjuice with you?” asked Archie.

Harry sounded affronted. “Of course,” she said, gesturing to her potions kit. “I will need to get some hairs to create a new appearance though.”

“Any specific requirements?” asked Leo. 

“Please, nobody with glasses. It’s very disconcerting having everybody and everything blurry.” 

“Perhaps Rispah and I could provide the hairs,” mused Leo. “I had identity documents prepared for some distant cousins I can claim,” Leo reported. “You won’t need any documentation in the alleys, of course, but it helps in preparing the story.”

“Won’t your parents be suspicious?” asked Archie, a strange mixture of curiosity and anxiety in his voice. “Don’t they know your family tree?”

Leo snorted. “Hardly. It’s not something my father’s been particularly interested in.”

Harry laughed. “Not every family is as obsessed with their family history as the Blacks are.” Archie was somewhat chastened. 

Leo continued. “I’ll say you’re distant cousins on my mother’s side, so it’s not implausible that my father doesn’t know you. Anyway, my father’s good at plausible deniability and my mother’s good at keeping secrets.”

Harry smiled in confirmation at that, and Archie relaxed somewhat. Leo knew Harry had spoken to his mother on occasion, and could only wonder what she really knew about Harry Potter. Not that she’d ever tell anyone. Healer Hurst treated her patients’ confidences as sacred. And she treated her son’s secrets the same way.

The Aldermaster of the Potions Guild had a duty to the Ministry. He’d sworn an oath of office that included, amongst other things, upholding the Ministry’s laws. He had a duty to report illegal activities, to call in the Aurors if he knew of wrongdoing. 

Leo was eternally grateful that his mother, despite her lie detecting talent, was so very good at keeping his secrets from his father, yet she managed to keep his father’s pride in him alive. His mother’s support meant a lot to him, and Healer Hurst’s assistance with Plan C would be invaluable.

It took them some time to work through the details, but they soon had a solid cover story to explain their presence in the alleys. 

The Masons, second cousins twice removed to the Coopers, Leo’s mother’s family, were orphans. They were visiting the alleys from their home in a remote rural village following the death of the elderly grandparents who’d raised them. 

Artemus (“Artie”) Mason had just finished his homeschooling a year early. Artie was interested in healing and he’d be helping out at the Maywell Clinic with Healer Hurst and Healing Intern Granger. 

Artie’s sister, Aster Mason, was in her mid twenties, that being the average of Leo and Rispah’s ages. Aster had some experience in brewing, primarily home remedies, and had looked after their ailing grandparents and the household. (Archie smirked at the thought of Harry being responsible for cooking; despite her brewing passion, Harry’s interest in food was limited to eating not preparing). 

Behind the cover story they all had a lot to do, but Leo had confidence in Harry. Riddle and his cadre of bigoted purebloods would not expect this.


	4. Harry

Harry was nervous about the forthcoming interview with Rita Skeeter. She hadn’t liked dealing with Skeeter during the tournament and she still had bad memories of Rita’s article about the sleeping sickness. But Skeeter was the _Daily Prophet’s_ star journalist and the _Daily Prophet_ was the main source of news for the wizarding world. 

Unfortunately, with the time frame they had, that is, before their parents realised that they weren’t actually spending the week with Harry’s fictitious muggle friend from AIM, they had little choice. The _Daily Prophet_ was the best way to get the story out there and destroy the hold Riddle had over Rigel. 

Harry doubted that she and Archie would have gotten away with it if it hadn’t been for the distraction provided by Voldemort’s attack on the tournament. But with James working almost around the clock with the Auror Department, Sirius picking up James’s slack at Marauders Inc, Remus spending more time in the alleys (Harry was hoping that Remus was spending time with Rispah, as hinted in Remus’s letters, rather than helping defend the alleys against Voldemort), and Lily believing that Harry and Archie would be safer in the muggle world, there had been less scrutiny than usual. 

Not to mention that James was happy with the idea of Harry spending the time with a new female friend. Harry had to try hard not to roll her eyes. She knew that his somewhat ridiculous overprotectiveness was a sign that he loved her, though she wished he would show his love in a less stifling manner. 

While they didn’t want their family to worry about them, Archie and Harry both agreed that it was best they remained ignorant. It was about more than just plausible deniability; Lily and Remus did not have the protection of being Purebloods; they could not afford to be accused of aiding and abetting blood identity theft. Harry didn’t have much faith that the Unbreakable Vow Riddle swore would properly protect her family from retribution. 

But she didn’t have time to think about that now. The bracelet Leo had given her chimed softly. That was the signal that Rita Skeeter was on her way thanks to Leo’s portkey.

They (or rather, Archie, wearing the semblance of Regulus Black), had paid for a room at the Hogs Head in Hogsmeade for a week. They weren’t planning on using it after the interview, but the longer stay would hopefully mean less scrutiny from the landlord.

Archie liked the idea of pretending to be Riddle when hiring the room, but as much as Harry thought that would be hilarious, it would draw questions too soon. Riddle wasn’t the sort of person who would be seen at the Hogs Head.

Regulus, on the other hand, frequented the Lower Alleys, albeit relatively incognito. It was likely that Riddle would interrogate the proprietor of the Hogs Head once the story was printed, so they could hardly be themselves, or their new identities. 

Regulus was going to be furious with Harry and Archie (particularly Harry, she thought) when the ruse was revealed, believing that they’d brought untold disgrace to the Ancient and Noble House of Black, so what did it matter if Archie used Regulus’s appearance to provide some misdirection? 

This would at least slow Riddle down in his quest for vengeance. Besides, it was easier for Archie to morph into and act like his uncle. For all that they might not have spent much time together in many years, Regulus still shared many of Sirius’s mannerisms.

Harry had snuck into their hired room under the Potter invisibility cloak. Archie had entered as Regulus but was now wearing the semblance of Rigel Black. Under the cloak Harry was wearing a glamour to also appear as Rigel Black. She wasn’t comfortable with showing her real face to Rita Skeeter, but it would add confirmation to their story. As Leo had pointed out, her real eyes and hair were unmistakably Harriet Potter. 

\- - - - - - - 

Rita Skeeter appeared with a pop in the middle of the room, her momentary disorientation quickly covered by her usual aplomb. She was wearing short, fitted robes of an eye watering green, her infamous rhinestone studded glasses glittering in the sunlight that filtered through the window.

Archie greeted her politely, the famous Black charm underlying his words. “Welcome, Miss Skeeter, and thank you for your time today. You’re the foremost journalist in wizarding Britain and I’m very appreciative that you’re letting me tell you my story.” 

“Mr Black,” she twittered, “you’re too kind.” Holding out a meticulously manicured hand, which Archie politely took and briefly raised to his lips, she asked. “May I call you Rigel?”

“You should probably call me Archie,” he said, politely ignoring the obnoxiously flirtatious lilt in her voice. “If you’d like to take a seat,” he said as he motioned to the chair to the left of him, “we can begin.”

Skeeter looked surprised, but sat in the offered chair. Archie handed her a quill and parchment then gracefully sat in the chair opposite, apparently leaving vacant a third chair that was sitting next to him.

“If you would like to begin?” he asked.

“Archie,” she simpered, “there is no need for all these cloak and dagger arrangements. You didn’t need to portkey me to an undisclosed location,” she said, gesturing to the anonymous looking room they were in. “We could have made an appointment for an interview in the _Prophet’s_ offices. Or Grimmauld Place, isn’t that the Black family home? I could have visited you at your home, Archie.” She smiled at Archie, possibly aiming for coquettish. It didn’t quite work. Under the invisibility cloak, Harry grimaced. 

“Ah, but there is a reason for these arrangements,” said Archie. “Including the anti-apparition and anti-portkey wards that currently cover this room.” A wave of magic crossed the room and panic momentarily crossed Skeeter’s face at the realisation that she could not leave until granted permission, that effectively she was trapped. 

“You were promised an exclusive interview with Rigel Black, the winner of the True TriWizard Tournament,” Archie said calmly and confidently, projecting tranquility to overcome any apprehension Skeeter might have. 

“I do not wish to trap or detain you. If you wish to be the journalist that gets this exclusive interview, you can be. If not, I will take down the wards and you can leave. That is up to you. But the Rigel Black you want to interview is not me.” 

Skeeter tried to hide her confusion. “Who are you then if not Arcturus Rigel Black?”

“I _am_ Arcturus Rigel Black,” replied Archie, confident that Skeeter would stay and listen to their story. “I am the son of Lord Sirius Orion Black and Lady Diana Black, Heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Black, but the Rigel Black you want to speak to, the Rigel Black who competed in Lord Riddle’s True TriWizard Tournament, the Rigel Black who attended Hogwarts for the last four years, is not me.” 

With that Archie let his natural abilities take hold and he reflexively metamorphosed into his natural shape, gaining at least an inch in height, growing into his now well-fitted robes, his face taking on sharper pureblood angles, his grey eyes gaining a shiny, silvery sheen, and his somewhat messy hair straightening and becoming less unmanageable. 

As Skeeter stared somewhat gobsmacked at Archie, Harry, sitting in the chair next to him, silently removed the invisibility cloak.

“This,” said Archie dramatically, enjoying the performance he was putting on as he pointed to Harry, now visible sitting demurely in her chair, “is the real winner of the TriWizard Tournament, Rigel Black.”

“Heiress Harriet Potter at your service, Miss Skeeter,” Harry said politely to the dumbfounded journalist, slowly letting go of the glamour and revealing her true visage as she spoke.

“ _Halfblood_ Heiress Harriet Potter,” Archie said pointedly.

“‘ _How well I do in this tournament will be a reflection on me, and me alone_ ,’” said Harry, quoting her answer to one of Rita’s questions during the tournament. “But in winning Lord Riddle’s ultimate test to prove Pureblood superiority,” and here Harry tried not to show her disdain of _Lord Riddle_ and the tournament, “I showed that blood purity is hogwash; I showed that a Halfblood can perform as well as, if not better than, a Pureblood.”

“How do I know you’re not lying to me now? That this isn’t some great big prank that you’re playing with your fathers to set me up? I went to Hogwarts with your prankster fathers,” Skeeter accused. 

“Everyone heard me speak Parseltongue during the first task,” she stated, before hissing _“how many Parselmouths are there at Hogwarts?_ ” as she drew Treeslider out from her robes. 

Skeeter flinched, whether from the snake or the Parseltongue Harry couldn’t say, but Skeeter looked decidedly less than comfortable, if not yet convinced of Harry and Archie’s claim. 

But there was one way to irrefutably prove the truth of their words and overcome Skeeter’s scepticism. 

Harry grasped her wand firmly in her right hand. “I swear in risk of my magic that I am Harriet Potter, daughter of Pureblood James Potter and Muggleborn Lily Evans Potter. That I am a Halfblood who has attended Hogwarts for the last four years under the guise of being Pureblood Rigel Black. That in my first year I cured the sleeping sickness, in my second year I defeated a basilisk, in the summer before my third year I interned at the Potions Guild where I developed and published a new potions imbuing technique, and in my fourth year I was forced to compete in the TriWizard Tournament. That I won the TriWizard Tournament. So mote it be.”

Treeslider hissed unhappily as all present felt the weight of the magic flooding the room as the magic induced by Harry’s vow assessed the validity of her claim, sweeping over her mind and soul, before the magic judged her true and faded harmlessly away. 

“Lumos,” said Harry, lighting her wand, then asking her magic to summon the tea tray to the coffee table from the buffet at the side of the room and reapply the glamour to her face. 

“I think that demonstrates the truth of my words,” Harry said wryly. 

They could almost see the gears turning in Skeeter’s head as she tried to work out the best angle to take on the story, the angle that would sell the most papers and skyrocket her name to the forefront of debate in wizarding Britain. This was when it could become dangerous, although ultimately their aim was just to make it public that Halfblood Harry Potter won the TriWizard tournament. Everything else they wanted to say flowed from that.

“If we could start from the beginning,” Skeeter asked. 

“Of course,” said Harry.

“How would you like your tea?” asked Archie. “This might take some time.”

“So,” said Skeeter, metaphorically sharpening her claws and going in for the kill once she’d prepared her quill and parchment and was settled with a cup of tea and slice of cake, “what made you decide to sabotage Lord Riddle’s tournament?”

Harry and Archie just laughed.

“I just swore on my magic that I was forced into the tournament,” said Harry, flooding the room with the might of her unrestrained magic for a second. Skeeter shivered involuntarily as Treeslider hissed in discomfort and Harry hissed an apology back. 

“As you can see, I still have my magic. The very last thing that I wanted to do was get involved in the tournament, but Lord Riddle entered my name without my knowledge or consent, as he made me offers I rejected and threats I ignored.”

“So what made you compete?” asked Skeeter.

“Lord Riddle swore an Unbreakable Vow that if I participated he would disavow the actions of Voldemort and the Death Eaters, and that if I won the tournament legislation discriminating against non-purebloods in employment, healthcare, and marriage, would not come to pass. In exchange for that I swore an Unbreakable Vow to compete to the best of my ability.” 

Skeeter tried, but failed, to hide her shock. Clearly this was not what she had expected.

“There was no secrecy associated with the Vow,” Harry said. “Archie and Professor Dumbledore were aware of the Vow and its contents.” She didn’t mention Professor Snape or her Hogwarts friends. They didn’t know all the details, and she didn’t want to draw attention to them.

“So why did Lord Riddle want you in the tournament?” questioned Skeeter. “It sounds like you would be more trouble than it’s worth.”

“That I don’t know,” said Harry. “You’d have to ask Riddle.” She hated calling him Lord; surely she’d done so enough now to satisfy politeness. 

Archie interrupted. “Because Harry is scary brilliant and magically powerful,” he said, as Harry blushed, embarrassed at his praise. “Even if she doesn’t appreciate all that she can do. When she sets her mind to something, nothing can stop her, and Riddle saw that. He knew she’d win. Harry’s shaped imbuing has the potential to revolutionise the field of healing potions.”

“I can’t say anything much about that,” Harry interjected, worried about her promise to Professor Snape. “I promised Master Snape I wouldn’t talk about it until he’d made inquiries about licensing the new healing potions we talked about.”

“You’re working with Potions Master Severus Snape on new healing potions?” Skeeter asked incredulously.

“Yes. He thought my ideas were a good use of my shaped imbuing technique.”

“The same Severus Snape who developed the New Wolfsbane Potion.”

“Yes. He’s the reason I wanted to go to Hogwarts.”

“Which brings us back to how this all came about,” Archie interjected. “All Harry ever wanted to do was learn potions from Professor Snape. But Halfbloods can’t go to Hogwarts now.”

“And all Archie wanted to do was be a healer,” added Harry. “Ever since Aunt Diana died, it’s all he ever wanted to do; to find cures so that other kids and families didn’t suffer the way he had. But Uncle Sirius wouldn’t let him go to the American Institute of Magic to study under the world’s best healing program.”

“So we swapped,” said Archie. 

“But surely Hogwarts has the best healing education,” argued Skeeter.

“No,” Harry and Archie said together. Harry laughed.

“Hogwarts doesn’t even offer Healing as a NEWT level subject. They certainly don’t have the specialisations AIM does. And no matter how good Madam Pomfrey is, and she is very good, she doesn’t have the time to teach healing the way AIM does. I self study Archie’s healing syllabi, but I don’t get the practical, hands-on experience that Archie does. Archie is a much better healer than me. Muggleborn champion Hermione Granger is a much better healer than me.”

“But Hogwarts has Master Snape,” said Archie. “And according to Harry, he’s the best Potions Master. AIM doesn’t offer anything near what Harry’s learnt.”

“But how did you get away with it?” asked Skeeter. Her curiosity and desire to know seemed to have overcome her need to be nastily nit picky.

“When we were eleven we looked pretty similar,” said Harry. “Particularly after we got the same haircut.”

“By our second year Harry found a way to modify polyjuice so that it lasts for months not an hour,” added Archie. “She also found a way where we could look similar but keep our own gender. Then I discovered I was a metamorphmagus.” He cycled his hair through the rainbow before returning it to its customary black.

“And no one else knew about it?” asked Rita incredulously. “Not your parents? Friends?”

“Our parents don’t know, and they won’t know until you print this story. They have done absolutely nothing to aid or abet this ruse,” said Harry emphatically. Archie nodded. 

“We can’t say enough how sorry we are that our actions are going to hurt them, because we never meant that, but I’m not hiding anymore because someone else discovered our secret.” 

“Who?” asked Skeeter eagerly, almost on the edge of her seat.

“Lord Riddle,” Harry spat angrily. “He did not hesitate to force me into the tournament because he thought Pureblood Rigel Black would win it for him. Now because I won the tournament Riddle wants me to be the Pureblood Poster Boy, even knowing I’m a Halfblood.” Harry looked down, as if shamefaced. “I know I’ve done the wrong thing according to the law,” she said quietly but firmly, “but the law’s wrong.”

“Halfbloods and Muggleborns are just as good as Purebloods. Harry’s winning the tournament shows that.” chimed in Archie. “Not to mention all of Harry’s other achievements.”

“The law’s wrong and I’m going to change it. Thanks to Archie’s generosity I’ve had opportunities other Halfbloods don’t get. I want everyone to have the same opportunities I’ve had, regardless of who their parents and grandparents are. I want my sister to be able to go to Hogwarts.”

“But won’t you go to Azkaban?”

“Not if I’m not caught before the law changes,” answered Harry. “And people are mistaken if they think I’m going to be caught. There’s a whole world beyond magical Britain - magical and muggle, and we’ve got lots of friends.”

“We’re good at self study,” said Archie. “We’re not going to let anything get in the way of our dreams. I’m still going to be a healer. Harry’s still going to be a Potions Mistress. We’re still going to change the world.”

“The idealism of youth,” Skeeter drawled.

“Perhaps,” said Archie. “But that doesn’t stop us aiming for the stars.”

“Absolutely,” said Harry firmly.

The rest of the interview was largely a repeat of what they’d already said. Having gotten over her shock, Skeeter tried to trick them into saying something different, but her tactics failed.

When there was nothing more to say, because they’d said it many times, Archie handed Skeeter the portkey back to Diagon Alley and Skeeter left. 

Harry pulled out Leo’s cloak clasp, and as quickly as Harry could say “red chrysanthemum,” well before Rita could return with Aurors or Riddle, Harry, Archie and Treeslider were once more securely portkeyed to the safe house. 


	5. Leo

Leo was concerned about what the _Daily Prophet_ would say about Harry, Rigel, Archie and the ruse. Sensationalism sold well and was more profitable than the much more mundane truth, and the _Prophet_ was very much about profit. 

Lies irritated his mother’s magic and Healer Hurst often told her family that she felt like she’d been bathed in itching powder after reading the _Prophet_ , so Leo had long known that the Prophet was far from a reliable source of truth; that the facts it printed were often few and far between.

Intellectually Leo knew that at this stage of the campaign all they needed from the Prophet was the publication of the barest of facts; that a Halfblood won the TriWizard Tournament, that Harry Potter had been masquerading as Rigel Black at Hogwarts for the past four years. That was enough to break Riddle’s hold on Harry and start people questioning the doctrine that purebloods were superior to halfbloods and muggleborns.

Wizarding opinion was fickle; there’d be time enough later to focus on getting the right messages out there. But that didn’t stop the words from hurting, and Leo didn’t want to see Harry hurt. 

The safe house wards prevented owls from reaching Harry and Archie, so Leo delivered the Daily Prophet in person. _Rigel’s Ruse Revealed_ screamed the headline, and the entire paper appeared devoted to the reveal of the ruse. Given the dearth of new information on Voldemort and his Death Eaters, Leo suspected that the _Prophet_ was desperate for a new scandal, and this ticked all the boxes, even if it said little about the intelligence of those who’d been fooled by a pair of teenagers.

“How can they write so much but say so little?” asked Archie as he flicked through the paper. “We didn’t say that much to Skeeter, and she can’t have had time to get comments from other people.”

“It’s very repetitive,” said Leo. “Just saying the same thing using slightly different words. Typical of the _Prophet_ .” Leo didn’t keep up with the minutiae of machinations in Pureblood High Society but he did keep a look out for what was happening; the Lower Alleys might be largely separated from elements of magical Britain, but they were still part of the wizarding world, and unfortunately the _Daily Prophet_ liked being the leader of wizarding opinion.

Leo started reading out some of the story headlines. “ _Halfblood Cuckoo in Hogwarts Nest_ . _Potter Pilfers Tournament Trophy_ . _Tournament Theft by Halfblood Heiress_ . _Halfblood’s Hogwarts Heist_ . They’re really fond of alliteration, aren’t they? _Halfblood Heiress Hiding at Hogwarts. Halfblood Harry’s Voldemort Victory_.” 

“Hey, that one’s a positive headline for you,” noted Archie, pointing to the article titled _Halfblood Harry’s Voldemort Victory_ . “And _Romantic Rigel is Really Heiress Harry_ doesn’t sound too bad either.”

“That’s the _Prophet’s_ pretence at being balanced,” Harry groaned. “Why did I think this was a good idea? I’d forgotten there was a reason I never subscribed to the Prophet myself.”

“Remember what the ultimate goal of the interview was,” Leo calmly reminded Harry. “Riddle doesn’t have a hold over you anymore. He can’t use the ruse to blackmail or threaten you into doing something you don’t want to. And everyone now knows that a Halfblood won Riddle’s much vaunted tournament. Regardless of what else the _Prophet_ says, those facts are out there.”

“Thanks Leo,” Harry said, her mood lightening. “I must remember to think of the bigger picture, the rest of our plan. Which leads me to ask: have you spoken to your mother about the Masons yet?”

“This morning. I joined my parents for breakfast. Where do you think I got the _Prophet_ from? I’m not interested in further enriching the _Prophet_ , and as my father already subscribes, waste not want not.”

Harry laughed. “ _Pureblood Potions Prince Pilfers Parents’ Prophet_. How’s that for an alliterative headline for you?”

“Shouldn’t it be _Potions Prodigal Pilfers Parents’ Prophet_?” asked Leo. “You’re the Potions Princess, I’m the prodigal son. The wastrel. Black sheep of the family.”

“Hardly, your highness,” said Harry drily gesturing to the well warded safe house that surrounded them. “Anyway, back to the Masons. Archie is starting to suffer from Hermione withdrawal,” she teased.

“Harry! I am not.”

“Are too!”

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

“Children!” exclaimed Leo, laughing. “Stop your bickering.” He sobered up. “My mother was initially surprised to hear about her distant cousins, but quickly agreed that it was more likely that they’d write to me rather than her as we were closer in age.” Leo didn’t mention that she’d given him one of those looks that said she knew what he was up to, and that she’d support him regardless, but please, please be careful, because it could be dangerous.

Leo’s father had been too busy chortling about the Harry-Rigel reveal (not to mention Harry’s long term polyjuice) to really take in the subtext of Leo’s discussion with his mother. Malcolm Hurst was very intuitive and he knew when it was best not to know details of certain things, particularly when his wife and son were involved in something together. 

(Leo knew his father wasn’t being insensitive; that he could understand the seriousness of the situation. He also knew that when you have to deal with pureblood bigots every day, there’s a limit to what you can take, and to see them so thoroughly outsmarted _was_ hilarious.)

Leo turned to Archie. “I can introduce Artie Mason to the Maywell Clinic sometime after lunch, if that suits you.”

“I’ll just have to check my busy social calendar.” Archie snarked. “Yep, free.”

“I don’t suppose Hermione would be working the afternoon shift at Maywell?” Harry asked slyly. 

“Perhaps,” admitted Leo. “It would be an amazing coincidence if she was.” He ducked as Archie tried to swat him with the newspaper but missed. 

“Bloody useless _Prophet_ ,” grumbled Archie. They all laughed.

\- - - - - - - 

Harry was distraught when she saw the _Prophet_ the following day. Leo hadn’t wanted to show Harry, he hadn’t wanted her to see it, he hadn’t wanted her hurt, but he knew that hiding things from Harry would be worse.

 _Head Auror Resigns Over Daughter’s Disgrace_ shrieked the Prophet. 

“The rest of the paper’s pretty much the same as yesterday. The only real news is about your father,” Leo said, trying to comfort Harry. “Just don’t look too closely at the slanderous tripe they’ve printed on page 4.” The article Leo was referring to, _Muggleborn Mother’s Shame_ , was one he hoped Harry didn’t read. It was vindictive and nasty, without an iota of truth. 

The article, _Where in the World is Heiress Potter?_ was tickling his fancy. The Prophet had latched onto Harry’s comment “there’s a whole world beyond magical Britain - magical and muggle, and we’ve got lots of friends”. 

That gave Leo an idea. A scathingly brilliant idea. An idea that would make fools of Riddle and the Ministry, and make them rue the day they ever let the Prophet badmouth Harry and Archie. An idea that would be a joy to pull off. An idea that would hopefully get him in the good books with Harry’s prankster father and uncles. Archie would love it too. But the most important thing now was to calm Harry down.

“Damnit,” Harry said, eyes wet with tears. “I never met for this to happen. It’s my fault, not Dad’s. He shouldn’t suffer for my actions. I knew that bloody Vow with Riddle wouldn’t be enough.”

“It’s not Riddle,” said Archie, after he read the article. “It’s Uncle James doing what he thinks is right. He can’t be the Head Auror responsible for capturing his fugitive daughter and godson. It’s too big a conflict. You know as well as I do that Uncle James is very serious about his job, about doing the right thing. His resignation was voluntary.”

“I understand,” said Harry. “And it’s not like the family will be destitute without Dad’s income. Like the Blacks, the Potters are very lucky; Potter family money means that Dad doesn’t need to work. Neither does Mum. But they _like_ working; their jobs are an important part of who they are. Being an Auror is a big part of James Potter’s identity.” She started crying. “I never meant this, I never even imagined this would happen.”

“Come here, Lass,” said Leo, opening his arms to hug her. She melted into him, sobbing quietly. Archie joined them from one behind, the two of them encompassing Harry in one big hug.

“I just wish I could tell Dad in person how sorry I am,” sobbed Harry. “We can’t even owl them. I understand the reasons why; with the chance of a tracking charm being included on an owl or letter being too great, the consequences too dangerous. And I’m sure Riddle’s interrogating them, so they’re safer not knowing, but I just wish we could say sorry, and that we’re safe.” 

“Me too,” said Archie, hugging Harry tighter. “Me too. Although I have to admit I’m kind of hoping Dad just sees this as one big prank on Riddle, Dark Pureblood Society and all the bigots.”

Harry made a hiccuping sound, like she was laughing through her tears. Leo and Archie released Harry from their joint hug.

“I don’t think Regulus Black is quite as appreciative of your pranking Dark Pureblood Society as your Dad is,” Leo suggested, hoping that tales of Regulus, who Leo gathered had been a bit of a jackass to Harry, would cheer her up. 

Archie snickered. “I don’t think we’ve done him any favours lately. I morphed into Regulus when I hired the room at the Hogs Head. I’m sure that’s gotten back to Riddle by now.”

“That explains why he was in such a foul mood yesterday,” reported Leo. “He ran into me at the Phoenix yesterday. He was very blatantly looking for information, asking if I needed to upgrade the warding on any buildings. He’s usually much more subtle.” Leo laughed. “So am I. I denied all his less than subtle insinuations, then bluntly reminded him of the Code and that the lower alleys people stick together.”

“Damnit,” said Harry. “Regulus must have realised that it was me in the free dueling tournament last summer. He was sniffing around after Draco said something to him about my favourite Fortis shield battering ram. I thought I’d redirected his attention, but there must have been other things that roused his suspicions. He’s never been fond of me. And now he’ll be furious with me for the disgrace I’ve brought to House Black.”

“What about me?” asked Archie. “I’m just as much a part of this as you are, and I’m actually a member of House Black, the Heir even, so if I say there is no disgrace, there is no disgrace. We’ve actually enhanced the Black reputation. Regulus just doesn’t realise it yet.”

Harry smiled weakly. “But if Regulus knows we could be in the alleys…” her voice trailed off.

“Don’t worry lass,” said Leo. “Regulus won’t find you. The alleys do stick together and he’s not a part of them. You are. Yes, I’ve asked him to do wards for the Phoenix and the free dueling tournament, but he’s not the only wizard skilled at wards in the alleys, and I wouldn’t use him for something as sensitive as this.”

“Thank you,” said Harry softly. “I should know better than to doubt you, it’s just that the threat of Azkaban and Dementors is closer now than it’s ever been.”

“Understood lass,” said Leo. “No offence taken.”

“So who did the wards?” Harry asked curiously.

“Curse Breakin’ Will might be primarily interested in curse and ward breaking, but of late he’s been using his skills to reverse engineer and copy wards. When I increased the number of Rogue safe houses early in the new year I hired Will to upgrade the wards on all the Rogue safe houses.”

Harry sighed in relief. “Thank the gods for that. We can trust Will.”

“Will?” queried Archie.

“Bill Weasley,” replied Harry. “We have an understanding. He knows Harry who brews for Krait is Harry Potter, but he won’t say anything, just as I won’t tell his family about his activities.”

Leo smiled. “You well understand the Code and the Court, Harry. But just for your information, I believe the wards Will installed are based off Regulus Black’s wards.”

Archie laughed. “Once more Uncle Regulus is helping us. Even if he doesn’t know. Dad will think it’s hilarious.”

“It’s unlikely that Will would link the ward upgrades to your flight,” Leo pointed out. “It was several months ago that he did the work.”

“Several months - just how long have you known all my secrets?” Harry asked Leo.

“I’ve always known that you _have_ secrets, lass. You told me so yourself, on several occasions. But it was watching Rigel Black in the second task that let the kneazle out of the bag,” Leo admitted. “Your boots and your potions focus. I was in denial until I saw you in the third task and recognised your dueling style. I think your Uncle Remus recognised it was you too.”

“Oh,” said Archie. “A few cryptic comments Remus made to me over the winter break make sense now.”

“But what really clinched it, beyond anything, was when you didn’t want me to attend the final task.”

Harry looked miserable. “I hope you understand that it wasn’t that I didn’t want you to attend, it was that I didn’t think I could afford anyone to find out, and I knew you would know if I saw you there. I didn’t think you already knew.”

“I know, lass, I know,” Leo said softly.

“And you do realise how happy I was when I saw you, don’t you?” Harry asked. “My magic recognised you, and your magic comforted me. Even if I was too knackered at the time to really say anything.”

“Where in the World is Heiress Potter?” asked Archie suddenly. 

Leo and Harry just looked at him strangely.

“Sorry, but I thought I’d read the Prophet and leave you two alone to be mushy.”

“That’s the last time I politely leave when you’re with Hermione,” grumbled Harry. “I’m going to make a song and dance of it now.”

“Yeah, yeah. Well, have you read this article?”

“I have,” said Leo. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“It depends what you’re thinking,” said Archie. “But I think so.”

“What?!?” asked Harry in frustration. “I haven’t read the article. What are you two talking about?”

“The Prophet is speculating where Harry - and Archie for the matter - could be hiding. They’re asking readers to owl in information. They understand that people might want to remain anonymous. The Minister has offered a reward,” said Leo. “It occurred to me earlier that this presents an opportunity.”

“Yes!” exclaimed Archie. “You are thinking what I’m thinking. We can keep on pranking Riddle, the Ministry, everyone!”

“I’ve received reports that the Aurors were searching for you two in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley yesterday. They started venturing down Knockturn, but stopped just before Krait’s shop. I’m not sure why, unless they remembered the less than welcome reception Krait gave them last time they raided the Serpent’s Storeroom. I haven’t heard anything yet today.”

“They can’t find us here, will they?” Harry asked worriedly.

“Not a chance,” said Leo confidently. “Will’s warding is high quality. There are owl wards, anti-trace wards and the ward equivalent of a notice-me-not charm on this building, plus several others I don’t know the details of. I tested it on Malek and Aled when Will first did the wards. You really need to know that this building is here before you can even get a glimpse of it. Besides,” he added, “the Aurors don’t usually venture this far into the lower alleys. We’re really outside their comfort zone. They won’t even think to come looking.”

“Back to the prank,” said Archie excitedly. “Riddle and the Minister desperately want to find us. They’ve offered a reward and are accepting anonymous owls reporting sightings of us. Let’s give them what they want: plenty of anonymous owls from all across the country, all across the world.”

“I’ve got contacts across the country,” offered Leo. “And I know people in the US, France and other parts of Europe. I’ve also got a large collection of unregistered local and international portkeys. I’ve been stockpiling them since January.”

“Doesn’t Will Weasley work for Gringotts in Egypt when he’s not in the alleys?” asked Harry. “He could send owls from there.”

“I’ve also got contacts in the US,” said Archie. “I’ve been going to school there for four years, after all.”

“And here we thought Hermione was your only friend,” teased Harry.

“She’s my best friend, my closest friend,” said Archie seriously. “And I hope one day that she’ll be much, much more. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t have other friends. Hermione will be able to help too.”

“We should make a list of places that Aurors would like to visit,” said Harry. “It’s about time the Ministry gave them some perks in exchange for all their hard work.”

“We need to plan this carefully,” said Leo. “We don’t want to get caught. Polyjuice could help us make the sightings real. I know Cora, Margo and Jason would love to help out. Plus there’s plenty of other people who wouldn’t mind a holiday. As I said, I’ve been stockpiling unregistered international portkeys.”

“We really need to contact the Weasleys,” Harry said. “Percy can help me with the legal and Wizengamot stuff, maybe even act as an official legal liaison with our family, whilst you plan the owl campaign with Fred and George.”

“And Ginny,” said Leo unexpectedly. “She tracked Will down in the alleys during the winter break. He wasn’t too pleased, but he started teaching her free dueling. I’m sure she’d love to help.”

“We should wait at least a week or two before our sightings start,” suggested Archie. “I’m sure there will be other people sending in anonymous owls. Just as long as they’re not from the alleys.”

“They won’t be,” Leo reassured him. “Unless we want them to be. You’ll be holed up, safe and sound in the alleys, Archie will be interning at Maywell with Hermione, you will be researching, brewing and changing the world to your heart’s content, while the Aurors will be chasing false leads all over the world.”

Harry smiled. Riddle, the Minister and Ministry wouldn’t know what hit them.

(The end. For now). 


End file.
